OREGON-MARIJUANA
Checkerboard of yes and no votes on marijuana hit Oregon
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Voters in about three dozen Oregon towns and counties decided to impose or maintain bans on marijuana businesses, while in two dozen other locales around the state, they voted to allow them.
Sometimes just a few yards’ distance determined whether a marijuana business could continue to exist or not.
The Herbal Remedies cannabis shop is right on the edge of the Salem city line. For owner Jered Decamp, it’s on the wrong side. Marijuana shops, both medical and recreational, are allowed in Salem. But, according to results of Tuesday’s election, in unincorporated parts of the county, which the shop is in, they will be banned.
Decamp says he will see what remedies are available to keep his business running.
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PORTLAND-TRUMP PROTEST
Anti-Trump protesters rally in Portland, snarl traffic
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Thousands of mostly young protesters rallied against President-elect Donald Trump in Portland, Oregon, disrupting traffic.
During the Wednesday gathering people shouted “not my president” and many carried signs saying things like “Love Trumps Hate.”
The Portland Police said a portion of Interstate 5 through the city was briefly closed as a precautionary measure in both directions because of protest activity. Police said protesters did not get on the freeway. Police said the protesters numbered about 2,000.
Earlier the protest in downtown drew several Trump supporters, who taunted the demonstrators with signs. At one point, a lone Trump supporter was chased across Pioneer Courthouse Square and hit in the back with a skateboard before others intervened.
DEPUTY ATTACKED-SENTENCE
Man gets prison for burglary, fight with deputy
(Information from: Mail Tribune, http://www.mailtribune.com/)
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — A southwestern Oregon man has been sentenced to five years in prison for an attack on a sheriff’s deputy during a burglary.
The Mail Tribune reports that 33-year-old Michael Dean McCarty, of Sams Valley, was sentenced Wednesday after pleading no contest to felony assault, burglary and firearm charges.
McCarty was accused of illegally entering a home on Oct. 13 when Deputy John Brackett approached him and a struggle ensued.
Court documents say McCarty had been wielding a handmade shank and a road flare at the time of the altercation.
Brackett used a Taser on McCarty before other officers arrived and the suspect was taken into custody.
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FATAL SHOOTING-SALEM
Salem man charged with murder in ex-girlfriend’s death
(Information from: Statesman Journal, http://www.statesmanjournal.com)
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A Salem man accused of fatally shooting his former girlfriend and fleeing toward Canada has been transported back to Oregon to face a murder charge.
The Statesman Journal reports that 23-year-old Cristian Acosta appeared in Marion County Circuit Court Wednesday on charges of aggravated murder with a firearm and endangering a person protected by a restraining order.
Twenty-year-old Lucia Pamatz was found shot dead inside a Salem apartment on Sept. 19.
Authorities later found and arrested Acosta near the Canadian border in Whatcom County.
Acosta had pleaded guilty to assaulting his ex-girlfriend in August and was on probation for the crime when Pamatz was killed.
In a restraining order against the suspect, Pamatz said Acosta made her fear for her life and her family.
Acosta remains jailed without bail.
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PORTLAND LEAD
State regulators tell Portland to reduce lead levels
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon Health Authority has ordered Portland to reduce lead levels in drinking water, after new testing found too much lead at some taps.
In a letter to the Portland Water Bureau, Oregon public health director Lillian Shirley said the city must submit a plan for lead reduction by Dec. 2, and include immediate steps it will take to fix the problem.
City officials contacted by The Oregonian/OregonLive on Wednesday declined to say what steps they might take.
Portland could increase pH levels and alkalinity, which would likely reduce the pipe corrosion that causes lead release, particularly in homes with lead-soldered plumbing or brass faucets.
Shirley wrote that Portland must upgrade its water treatment facilities and infrastructure to permanently solve the problem, and gave the city six years to get it done.
RANCHING STANDOFF-FLORES
Second ranching standoff defendant wants to withdraw plea
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A second defendant in the Oregon ranching standoff case has asked to withdraw his guilty plea.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that Eric Lee Flores says “newly discovered evidence” presented at the recent trial of seven people who took over a federal wildlife refuge in a 41-day armed standoff with authorities is grounds for the plea withdrawal.
Flores’ lawyer, Ernest Warren Jr., says testimony from FBI informants revealed that they were encouraging others to violate the law and escalate confrontations with officers. Prosecutors said during the trial that 15 FBI informants were involved in the investigation of the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, including nine who were at the refuge during the takeover.
Flores was scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 8.
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ELECTION PROTESTS-THE LATEST
The Latest: Los Angeles freeway blocked by Trump protesters
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Several hundred people flooded onto one of the busiest freeways in Los Angeles, causing a miles-long traffic backup in protest of the presidential election of Donald Trump.
The protesters, who had remained peaceful and not overly disruptive for most of the night, poured on to U.S. 101, which links downtown LA to Hollywood, and stayed there for most of an hour. Drivers sat and waited. Many got out of their cars.
The crowd was slowly starting to disperse as many of the demonstrators left the freeway and others were taken into police custody.
There was no violence between officers and protesters.
The demonstrators were among thousands who took to streets in protest of Trump across the country, from New York to Texas to much of the West Coast.
9: 30 p.m.
Police in Oakland, California blocked thousands of people protesting Donald Trump’s election from getting onto a highway Wednesday night.
The crowd chanting and waving signs gathered in Frank Ogawa Plaza in downtown Oakland in the afternoon. Officials said the crowd had swelled to 6,000 people by evening.
By late Wednesday, two groups that set small fires on streets remained in the area.
Officers in riot gear stood guard and blocked them from marching onto nearby Interstate 90.
Television images showed some in the crowd dragging plywood and trash cans to feed one fire.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
